I learned a lot about the many uses of the digital camera in the classroom at the following site.
http://www.drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/
When you click on drscavanaugh at the bottom of the list on the left hand side, you are sent to the home site that offers the following:
| Digital Cameras in Education | EBooks in Education | Technology Enhance Literature Circles | K12 Distance Education |
| Assistive Educational Technology | Dinosaur Tracking for Science Ed. | Science Education Resources | Other stuff |
Very cool!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Digital Imagery in the Classroom
I have spent the last long while searching sites and have come up with the following useful ones. It was not a surprise to find a number of sites had already become obsolete considering how quickly technology is moving. I don't know if I can keep on keeping up. (:
http://www.pics4learning.com/index.php
This is a great site with hundreds of images that you can use in your classrooms in many ways.
Make sure to check out The Life and Times of Jacques la Grenouille. It is one type of picture story that can easily be done by students at every level.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/
History through the eyes of those who lived it. (all American unfortunately)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/video/
Nova Teachers - This site offers teachers a multitude of ready for class videos of various lengths.
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/
A collection of images for teaching biology and available in both languages.
http://www.pics4learning.com/index.php
This is a great site with hundreds of images that you can use in your classrooms in many ways.
Make sure to check out The Life and Times of Jacques la Grenouille. It is one type of picture story that can easily be done by students at every level.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/
History through the eyes of those who lived it. (all American unfortunately)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/video/
Nova Teachers - This site offers teachers a multitude of ready for class videos of various lengths.
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/
A collection of images for teaching biology and available in both languages.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Future of Education in a Digital World
The April 26th, 2007 programme The Agenda with Steven Paikin offers us a glimpse into the different views of educators regarding our high schools. He begins with a the following quote:
"U.S.High Schools Obsolete.
By obsolete, I don't just mean that our high schools are broken, flawed, underfunded - though a case could be made for everyone of those points. By obsolete, I mean that our high schools - even when they are working exactly as designed - cannot teach our kids what they need to know today. Training a workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It's the wrong tool for times. Our high school were designed 50 years ago to meet the need of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting - even ruining - the lives of millions of Americans every year."
Bill Gates, February 26, 2005
National Education Summit for High Schools
He has an audience and people online who will be part of the discussion. His panel of experts in education give their opinions based on research and statistics. One interesting stat was that for every dollar spent on professional development, there is a student gain of 4 points.
This podcast of the programme is definitely enlightening and a recommended read.
http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=342
"U.S.High Schools Obsolete.
By obsolete, I don't just mean that our high schools are broken, flawed, underfunded - though a case could be made for everyone of those points. By obsolete, I mean that our high schools - even when they are working exactly as designed - cannot teach our kids what they need to know today. Training a workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It's the wrong tool for times. Our high school were designed 50 years ago to meet the need of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting - even ruining - the lives of millions of Americans every year."
Bill Gates, February 26, 2005
National Education Summit for High Schools
He has an audience and people online who will be part of the discussion. His panel of experts in education give their opinions based on research and statistics. One interesting stat was that for every dollar spent on professional development, there is a student gain of 4 points.
This podcast of the programme is definitely enlightening and a recommended read.
http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=342
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
podcast, vidcast and photocasting
I was doing research on podcasting, vidcasting and since I was interested in using photos and sound in my history class, I thought of calling it photo casting. Low and behold, it already exists. I was impressed with coming up with this idea even if it wasn't a new one.
I love teaching history. My students are learning to appreciate its' importance. (Some more than others of course.) When I explained their next project in which we will be using photos that they select and which they will explain via a microphone, they thought it was a great idea. They are very much looking forward to the challenge. Of we go to the computer lab tomorrow to start our journey into photocasting a history research.
Here is a site describing how to photocast even if you do not have an Apple computer.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/
I love teaching history. My students are learning to appreciate its' importance. (Some more than others of course.) When I explained their next project in which we will be using photos that they select and which they will explain via a microphone, they thought it was a great idea. They are very much looking forward to the challenge. Of we go to the computer lab tomorrow to start our journey into photocasting a history research.
Here is a site describing how to photocast even if you do not have an Apple computer.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Digital Storytelling
Storytelling has been crucial in transferring knowledge from generation to generation. When we think of our history, we want Canadians to know it. The governments have set up many wonderful historical sites to help educators, researchers and anyone who wishes to use them. There are many of these sites that offer virtual museums, or libraries. Having videos and sound clips makes it so much more interesting to teach and to learn history. In 2000, the federal government announced that it will digitize all of the national museums.
About the Digital Library of Canada Program
The Digital Library of Canada Program is an initiative of the National Library of Canada to produce a rich national multimedia resource, accessible to all Canadians, that documents Canadian heritage and culture. The Digital Library of Canada Program is organizing the digitization of materials from the rich and diverse collections of the National Library of Canada, developing strategic partnerships with other national content providers to provide wide-ranging and sustainable access to Canadian cultural resources, and is providing outreach for educators in the use of these digital resources.
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/quoi-de-neuf/007/013007-207-f.html
Back in 2000, the Federal government implemented a task force to: "The task force’s efforts will be directed towards promoting this collaborative vision while developing digital resources drawn from the National Library collections. The task force will also examine how to provide innovative national services and access to new Canadian information resources that are being "born digital".
Conclusion
There is a need to make more -- significantly more -- Canadian historical and cultural content available on the Web in a coherent and user-friendly manner. The task force is working towards meeting this need.
The effort of making digital content available and readily accessible is a long-term one that will become a regular part of the business of the National Library, as it will for many libraries. The task force has a three-year mandate to make significant headway in increasing the quantity and quality of authentic, unique, interesting and educational Canadian content on the Web. To realize our vision, the Digital Library of Canada Task Force will pursue all opportunities to make the Library’s collections and expertise accessible, and to generate excitement and momentum that will open doors and create new opportunities for the National Library of Canada to reach out to all Canadians."
http://www.collectioncanada.ca/bulletin/015017-0011-11-e.html
About the Digital Library of Canada Program
The Digital Library of Canada Program is an initiative of the National Library of Canada to produce a rich national multimedia resource, accessible to all Canadians, that documents Canadian heritage and culture. The Digital Library of Canada Program is organizing the digitization of materials from the rich and diverse collections of the National Library of Canada, developing strategic partnerships with other national content providers to provide wide-ranging and sustainable access to Canadian cultural resources, and is providing outreach for educators in the use of these digital resources.
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/quoi-de-neuf/007/013007-207-f.html
Back in 2000, the Federal government implemented a task force to: "The task force’s efforts will be directed towards promoting this collaborative vision while developing digital resources drawn from the National Library collections. The task force will also examine how to provide innovative national services and access to new Canadian information resources that are being "born digital".
Conclusion
There is a need to make more -- significantly more -- Canadian historical and cultural content available on the Web in a coherent and user-friendly manner. The task force is working towards meeting this need.
The effort of making digital content available and readily accessible is a long-term one that will become a regular part of the business of the National Library, as it will for many libraries. The task force has a three-year mandate to make significant headway in increasing the quantity and quality of authentic, unique, interesting and educational Canadian content on the Web. To realize our vision, the Digital Library of Canada Task Force will pursue all opportunities to make the Library’s collections and expertise accessible, and to generate excitement and momentum that will open doors and create new opportunities for the National Library of Canada to reach out to all Canadians."
http://www.collectioncanada.ca/bulletin/015017-0011-11-e.html
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Storytelling in the family and at school
Being the 10th in a family of 15 children, in a French catholic family, I can absolutely relate to storytelling and its' role in the family dynamics. There was no television in our home until I was 12 and, living in northern Ontario, we never missed Hockey Night in Canada. Since our "hanglish was not too good", and the shows were all mostly English, we were entertained by the stories told by our mother. Since we had no camera or pictures of our humble life in Quebec before moving to northern Ontario, our mother used her stories to help us build memories that our young minds had not been able to. The stories were filled with descriptions that made it seem like we were watching a movie. Had it not been for her stories, we would have so many questions. Now having children of my own, I pass those stories onto them. They love to hear about how it was as a child of the 50s in Quebec and in Ontario. They even tell their friends about some of the things that happened in my family that I would not know about were it not forMaman la raconteuse.
As a teacher of social sciences and a child of the 50s, I tell stories all the time that fit in with the history curriculum. I believe that it brings that human element to the class and I KNOW from the reaction of my students that they enjoy it. I truly hope that it never stops.
The following site helps explain the history of storytelling. It is not a new concept.
http://www.callofstory.org/en/family/default.asp
It is the new approach of digital storytelling in the classroom that is new. There are many ways to use this teaching and learning approach. One that I really think young school age children will enjoy is storyline online put on by the Screen Actors' Guild. Celebrities can be seen, in full screen, reading some of the favourite books of young children.
http://www.storylineonline.net/ (I couldn't open it in Explorer, but I did in Mozzila Firefox) It is worth the visit if you have younger students.
Several years ago this was done on Reading Rainbow. (for those of you who remember). My children loved that show. Now it is on the computer and it more interactive. Wow!
As a teacher of social sciences and a child of the 50s, I tell stories all the time that fit in with the history curriculum. I believe that it brings that human element to the class and I KNOW from the reaction of my students that they enjoy it. I truly hope that it never stops.
The following site helps explain the history of storytelling. It is not a new concept.
http://www.callofstory.org/en/family/default.asp
It is the new approach of digital storytelling in the classroom that is new. There are many ways to use this teaching and learning approach. One that I really think young school age children will enjoy is storyline online put on by the Screen Actors' Guild. Celebrities can be seen, in full screen, reading some of the favourite books of young children.
http://www.storylineonline.net/ (I couldn't open it in Explorer, but I did in Mozzila Firefox) It is worth the visit if you have younger students.
Several years ago this was done on Reading Rainbow. (for those of you who remember). My children loved that show. Now it is on the computer and it more interactive. Wow!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Digital storytelling and copyright
As usual, we must consider all aspects of new ventures. Digital storytelling is something that I will definitely use in my French classes and my social science classes that I teach in French. My students can speak better than they can write. I'm thinking that they would love to record their researches. The picture part is what I feel that I must explain to them. The copyright rules....
"In this digital age, it is very easy to copy photos and illustrations from the 'Net. In fact, it is a process we discover when we "right-click" our computer's mouse. However, we must observe the same copyright compliance given to written property. Given that, how do we help our students discover which photos and images are available for them to copy from the Internet and use in their work?
Below are some resources to help you educate your students in using images.
How do you locate Copyright Statements on a website?
What if you cannot find the Copyright Statement on a website?
Sample Copyright Statements for "Free" Images
Sample Copyright Statements for Limiting Use of Images
Sample Copyright Statements for Restricting Use of Images
Some Options for Using Images on School/Student Websites
How do you locate Copyright Statements on a website?
Copyright statements appear on many different places on a website. In some cases, the statement is in an obvious place on all pages ... like the ones found on the bottom of the 2Learn.ca's pages. However, on most websites, you may have to do some detective work to discover whether or not you have permission to use an image. Some of the places we found copyright statements on various websites appear as links labelled:
All Rights Reserved
Read Me
Who are We
Copyright and Privacy
Contact Us
Site Info
About Us
Terms of Use
Note: Sometimes you have to go to the "Home" page of a website to find information on copyright." http://www.2learn.ca/copyright/images.html
It would only take a few minutes to discuss this important issue with the students but it is a valuable lesson.
"In this digital age, it is very easy to copy photos and illustrations from the 'Net. In fact, it is a process we discover when we "right-click" our computer's mouse. However, we must observe the same copyright compliance given to written property. Given that, how do we help our students discover which photos and images are available for them to copy from the Internet and use in their work?
Below are some resources to help you educate your students in using images.
How do you locate Copyright Statements on a website?
What if you cannot find the Copyright Statement on a website?
Sample Copyright Statements for "Free" Images
Sample Copyright Statements for Limiting Use of Images
Sample Copyright Statements for Restricting Use of Images
Some Options for Using Images on School/Student Websites
How do you locate Copyright Statements on a website?
Copyright statements appear on many different places on a website. In some cases, the statement is in an obvious place on all pages ... like the ones found on the bottom of the 2Learn.ca's pages. However, on most websites, you may have to do some detective work to discover whether or not you have permission to use an image. Some of the places we found copyright statements on various websites appear as links labelled:
All Rights Reserved
Read Me
Who are We
Copyright and Privacy
Contact Us
Site Info
About Us
Terms of Use
Note: Sometimes you have to go to the "Home" page of a website to find information on copyright." http://www.2learn.ca/copyright/images.html
It would only take a few minutes to discuss this important issue with the students but it is a valuable lesson.
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